Here's the latest:
Judge does not immediately restore AP’s access to White House but urges government to reconsider its ban
A federal judge refused to immediately order the White House to restore The Associated Press’ access to presidential events, saying the news organization had not demonstrated it had suffered irreparable harm in the matter. But he urged the government to reconsider its two-week-old ban, saying that case law “is uniformly unhelpful to the White House.”
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden’s decision was only for the moment. He told attorneys for the Trump administration and the AP that the issue required more exploration before ruling.
Trump’s Cabinet members have already backtracked on some promises made before being confirmed
As they mustered support for their confirmations by the U.S. Senate, some of Trump's appointees made statements about the leadership of the FBI to vaccine schedules and Russia sanctions.
Now appointed, some have already distanced themselves from their previous statements.
▶ Read about some of those promises and their subsequent actions
Pennsylvania’s governor says the state is now getting federal aid that had been withheld
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday that the Trump administration has freed up billions in federal aid the Democrat had accused it of withholding illegally and unconstitutionally.
Shapiro said more than $2 billion his administration had identified as either frozen or held up by an unspecified review was now accessible to state agencies.
Shapiro sued in federal court over the aid Feb. 13, after federal courts had repeatedly rejected the Trump administration's sweeping pause on federal funding, and questioned whether the Trump administration was ignoring court orders to restore access to the suspended money.
Much of the stalled grant funding was passed by Congress in signature laws signed by former President Joe Biden, his landmark 2022 climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and his 2021 infrastructure law.
Court orders block Trump administration from moving transgender women inmates to men’s prisons
Most transgender women inmates now assigned to federal women’s prisons can stay there, a judge ruled Monday, thwarting the Trump administration’s plans to move them to men’s prisons.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington, D.C., expanded his preliminary injunction to apply to a dozen prisoners who faced relocation to men’s prisons under President Trump’s Trump’s executive order rolling back transgender protections.
The judge ordered the federal Bureau of Prisons to continue their “housing status and medical care,” including hormone therapy, as they existed immediately prior to Jan. 20, Trump’s first day back in the White House and the day he signed the executive order.
Lamberth noted at a hearing this month that there are only about 16 transgender women housed in women’s facilities in the federal prison system. Last month, a Boston federal judge halted the transfer of another transgender women’s to a men’s prison. In all, 13 people are covered by orders blocking the moves.
The Bureau of Prisons declined comment, saying it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Trump and Macron’s joint news conference has ended
It ended with France’s president asking if Europe doesn’t move to guarantee Ukraine’s security, “How can we guarantee our own security?”
The 40-minute news conference featured a series of questions put to both leaders. But Ukraine, predictably, dominated the conversation.
Trump mostly stuck to discussing his efforts to negotiate an end to Russia’s war in that country with officials from Moscow. But he also spoke at length about how pleased he was with the efforts to reconstruct Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a devastating fire there in 2019.
Putin says he has not discussed ending the war in Ukraine in detail with Trump
Putin said Monday that he has not discussed resolving the conflict in Ukraine in detail with President Trump, and neither did Russian and American negotiating teams when they met last week in Saudi Arabia.
In remarks broadcast on state television, Putin also said Russia does not rule out European countries participating in a peace settlement.
Earlier in the day, Trump said he believed Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war and said he had asked Putin that question.
Putin and senior Russian officials had previously indicated they would not accept Western forces in Ukraine.
‘It was a great achievement,’ Trump says of Notre Dame Cathedral’s reconstruction
Trump repeatedly gushed about the reconstruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a devastating 2019 fire as Macron thanked Trump for attending the cathedral's reopening, calling it a testament to the long history of friendship between their countries.
“That was a sad day watching that burn, and five years later you had it up and they say it’s even more beautiful than it was before,” Trump said. “It was a great achievement.”
The cathedral's reconstruction required nearly $1 billion in global donations, including from U.S. organizations and citizens.
Trump says tariffs will be starting on Canada and Mexico in March
That’s despite ongoing talks among the three countries.
“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump said at a White House news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Trump seemed to indicate after being asked about the tariffs on Canada and Mexico that other nations would also face his planned “reciprocal” tariffs. The U.S. president said his plans to tax imports are “moving along very rapidly.”
Trump initially threatened tariffs on America’s two largest trade partners in November of last year before taking the oath of office. He has said the tariffs are meant to get Canada and Mexico to address illegal immigration and drug smuggling, with both countries emphasizing and amplifying existing policies in ways that prevented the tariffs from being implemented as initially planned in February.
Trump boasted about leveraging his relationship with Russia to promote peace in Ukraine
He said one of his first calls in after he returned to the White House was to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Before I came here, there was no communication with Russia whatsoever, and Russia wasn’t answering calls,” he said. “They were not talking to anybody, and people accepted that.”
Trump said he was treated “with great respect” by Putin and told “they want to end this war.”
“I really believe that he wants to make a deal,” Trump said. “I may be wrong but he wants to make a deal.”
Macron says he thinks it’s good to have discussions between the US and Russia
France’s president says, “I always think it’s good to have discussion with other leaders and especially when you disagree.”
He said of the Trump administration’s discussions with Russia over ending fighting in Ukraine, “I think it’s good to have discussion.”
Macron also suggested that other European nations could assist in that process going forward.
Macron says fairness is focus on trade talks with Trump
French President Emanuel Macron said he talked with President Donald Trump about “fair competition” in trade, a commitment meant to stave off the U.S. leader’s threats to tariff members of the European Union.
“We want to make a sincere commitment towards a fair competition where we have smooth trade and more investments,” Macron said at a White House news conference, according to a translation of his French remarks.
Macron said the idea is to help the United States and Europe both prosper, saying further talks would be carried out by their respective teams to flesh out their ideas.
Trump already plans to remove the exemptions on his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs, but his administration is weighing what the U.S. president calls “reciprocal” taxes on imports to be levied as soon as April.
Macron: France committed to helping shoulder more of financial burden of ensuring peace in Ukraine
“As Europeans, we have committed to being stakeholders in these security guarantees,” he said. “And we are well aware that Europeans need to do more for security in Europe, for defense in Europe and to more fairly share the security burden that your country has been carrying for so many years.”
Macron says ‘peace must not be a surrender of Ukraine’
And the French president said that an end to the fighting can’t be “a ceasefire without guarantees.”
In opening remarks during his news conference with Trump, Macron said European nations need to contribute more to maintaining the defense and security of their continent — potentially relieving financial pressure on the U.S., which has borne most of the financial burden.
But he also said, “We admire greatly the courage of the Ukrainian people” in that country’s battles against Russia.
“I think that no one in this room wants to live in a world where it’s the law of the strongest,” Macron said.
Macron emphasized $128 billion in French aid to Ukraine, which he expected to only last a few weeks
The French president said Ukrainian sovereignty is an “existential issue” for stability in Europe.
“Ukraine has been able to hold the front of our collective security. Its fought over these past few years for its independence and for its sovereignty but also for our collective security,” he said.
Trump repeatedly knocked his predecessor, Biden, for allowing the Ukraine war to drag on
Trump claimed the war “would never have happened if I was president” and that he’s made more progress toward peace in Ukraine “than occurred in the past three years.”
He also said he was “pleased that President Macron agrees that the cost and burden of securing the peace must be borne by the nations of Europe, not alone by the United States.”
“I believe taxpayers in the United States also deserve to recoup the colossal amounts of money that we’ve sent,” he said.
“Our focus is on achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible, and ultimately permanent peace,” Trump said. “My meeting with President Macron was a very important step forward.”
USDA sued for removing climate change-focused pages from its website
The lawsuit was filed Monday by the environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
The lawsuit argues that the move violates the Freedom of Information Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, which involve rules around government actions and information access.
The plaintiffs seek a court order requiring the USDA to “restore access to key webpages and preventing USDA from removing additional climate-related information,” according to a news release published today by Earthjustice.
“By wiping critical climate resources from the USDA’s website, the Trump administration has deliberately stripped farmers and ranchers of the vital tools they need to confront the escalating extreme weather threats like droughts and floods,” said Anne Schechinger, Midwest director for the Environmental Working Group, one of the plaintiffs.
The USDA referred a request for comment to the Department of Justice, which did not immediately respond to the AP.
Trump calls the Ukraine war ‘a horrible, bloody mess’
Trump says the war has meant that “an entire generation of Ukrainians and Russian men has been decimated.”
At the top of a joint news conference with French President Emanuel Macron, Trump said of three years of fighting in Ukraine, “What a mess. What a horrible, bloody mess.”
He promised a clean break with Democratic President Joe Biden’s policy in Ukraine, and said that discussions between Russia and his administration were moving toward peace “pretty quickly.”
Trump outlined France’s history as ‘America’s oldest ally’ as he opened a news conference
The news conference followed his Monday meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The purpose of our meeting today is to end another battle, a really horrible one, a war, something we haven’t seen since the Second World War that is ravaging European soil,” Trump said.
Trump spoke on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which he said Monday “would never have happened if I was president.”
Trump expresses hope Russia’s war in Ukraine is nearing endgame as he meets with France’s Macron
Trump, in broad-ranging comments on the state of the conflict, said Monday he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine to keep the peace. He also expressed hope the conflict could end within weeks and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would soon come to the U.S. to sign a deal to give the U.S. access to Ukraine's critical minerals to help repay some of the $180 billion in American aid that's been sent to Kyiv since the start of the war.
“It looks like we’re getting very close,” Trump told reporters at the start of his bilateral meeting with Macron. He added that Zelenskyy could potentially visit Washington this week or next to sign the deal.
Trump and Macron earlier on Monday participated in a virtual meeting with fellow Group of Seven leaders to discuss the war.
Judge set to hear arguments in the AP’s lawsuit against Trump officials
A judge is due to hear arguments Monday afternoon in The Associated Press' lawsuit against three staff members of President Trump, whose administration has barred the news agency from presidential events.
The AP is appearing in federal court in Washington on Monday over its emergency motion to undo the administration’s move to shut its journalists out of the Oval Office, Air Force One and other areas where the outlet has long operated as part of the White House press pool.
The dispute stems from the news agency's refusal to conform to Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America." The AP says it is adhering to the "Gulf of Mexico" terminology because its audience is global and the waters are not only in U.S. territory, but it is acknowledging Trump's rechristening as well.
AP says the issue strikes at the very core of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, which bars the government from punishing speech. The White House says access to the president is a privilege, not a right.
Judge blocks immigration agents from making arrests in churches for some religious groups
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chang on Monday found that the Trump administration policy could violate their religious freedom and should be blocked while a lawsuit plays out.
The preliminary injunction from the Maryland-based judge only applies to the plaintiffs, which include five Quaker congregations, a Georgia-based network of Baptist churches and a Sikh temple in California.
They sued after the Trump administration threw out Department of Homeland Security policies limiting where migrant arrests could happen as Trump seeks to make good on campaign promises to carry out mass deportations.
The policy change said field agents using “common sense” and “discretion” can conduct immigration enforcement operations at houses of worship without a supervisor’s approval.
▶ Read more about the judge's decision
Macron tells Trump that Europe provided ‘real money’ to Ukraine
Macron interrupted Trump as the U.S. president was saying, “Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They’ll get their money back.”
Putting his hand on Trump’s arm, Macron corrected: “No, in fact, to be frank, we paid 60% of the total effort: it was through, like the U.S., loans, guarantees, grants. We provided real money, to be clear.”
In meeting with Macron, Trump threatens tariffs
President Trump reiterated his plans to charge “reciprocal” tariffs against every country in the world, as French President Emanuel Macron listened in silence as the two met in the Oval Office.
“Whatever they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said. “Nobody has a problem.”
Trump has portrayed the planned taxes on imports as a matter of fairness. Still, his threatened tariffs would include other factors such as the value added taxes charged in Europe and state subsidies in determining rates. Europe has plans to retaliate with tariffs against Trump’s plans to reinforce his 2018 taxes on steel and aluminum imports with no exceptions provided to allies.
Trump backs Musk’s demand for federal employees to report what they’ve accomplished
Trump suggested that only those working on secret or confidential things don’t have to comply with Musk’s demand.
Some key U.S. agencies told their staffers not to answer the email, including the FBI and State Department. But Trump called the email “great.”
Though some agencies issued noncompliance orders, he said, “That was done in a friendly matter,” and suggested it was about protecting secret or sensitive work, not seeking to be “combative” with Musk.
“There was a lot of genius in sending it,” Trump said of Musk’s email.
Trump says Putin
would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of potential deal to end war
Trump made the comments to reporters at a start of a meeting at the White House on Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Yeah, he will accept it,” Trump said. “I have asked him that question. Look If we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war.”
Democrats urge officials to tell workers they don’t have to respond to Musk’s demands
The letter from more than 100 House Democrats came in response to a tweet from Elon Musk and a subsequent Office of Personnel Management email demanding an explanation of what they got done in the last week.
The letter went to Trump’s top cabinet members and other agency heads, and it said Musk lacks a basic understanding of how government works. Finally, it said the agency heads must make clear that Musk’s threat of dismissal due to a nonresponse to the email is invalid.
“Whether Mr. Musk understands it or not, America is a nation of laws, our government is a system of checks and balances, and federal agencies will not be reorganized by social media post,” the letter read.
▶ Read more about Musk's demand
Trump says Zelenskyy could come to Washington soon to sign a rare earth minerals agreement
The Trump administration wants more access to valuable minerals like lithium. Trump said a deal there was close. He also suggested a larger deal ending Russia’s war in Ukraine could come “within weeks.”
Asked if he’d call Russian President Vladimir Putin a dictator after calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that last week, Trump wouldn’t say, offering only, “I don’t use those words lightly.”
New FBI Director Kash Patel is also now at the helm of the ATF
Patel was sworn in Monday as acting chief of the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives just days after he became director of the FBI, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter.
It’s not immediately clear if Trump intends to nominate Patel for the ATF post, or what the administration’s plans are for the agency that has long been the target of Republicans. Justice Department and White House officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
With about 5,500 employees, the ATF is responsible for enforcing the nation's laws around firearms, explosives and arson. Among other things, it's in charge of licensing federal firearms dealers, tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations.
▶ Read more about the Patel's new role
— Alanna Durkin Richer
‘If you can’t come up with five things that you did, maybe you shouldn’t be employed here’
The head of the Department of Transportation said Monday he expects his employees to comply to Elon Musk’s demand for a list of five things they did last week — or possibly lose their jobs.
“If you can’t come up with five things that you did, maybe you shouldn’t be employed here,” DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News. “This is an easy task.”
Musk’s government cost-cutting team has begun eliminating jobs at the DOT through buyouts and firings. That includes cuts at the auto safety unit that’s investigating Tesla crashes and ordering the Musk-run carmaker to recall vehicles.
Duffy told Congress before he was confirmed that he wouldn’t interfere on Musk’s behalf to stop Tesla probes.
Duffy added in the Fox interview that, if anything, the Musk email demanding federal employees list their accomplishments by the end of Monday may prove inspiring to workers.
UN rejects US resolution that doesn’t note Russian aggression in Ukraine war
In a win for Ukraine on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the United States on Monday failed to get the U.N. General Assembly to approve its resolution seeking to end the war without mentioning Russian aggression.
The U.S. draft resolution was amended by the assembly, adding language making clear that Russia invaded its smaller neighbor in violation of the U.N. Charter.
The vote in the 193-nation world body on the amended U.S. resolution was 93-8 with 73 abstentions, with Ukraine voting “yes,” the U.S. abstaining and Russia voting “no.”
▶ Read more about the United Nations resolution
Trump says he hopes a proposed deal to recoup billions in military aid to Ukraine will soon be signed
In a post to his Truth Social website, Trump said Monday he explained to visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders of the Group of Seven advanced democracies that the deal, which would involve the U.S. taking control of a significant portion of Ukraine’s rare earths and mineral assets, was critical to his efforts to end the war.
Those efforts have included direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian leaders as well as a United Nations resolution calling for an end to the war.
“Everyone expressed their goal of seeing the war end, and I emphasized the importance of the vital ‘Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal’ between the United States and Ukraine, which we hope will be signed very soon!” Trump wrote. He said the agreement would result in a long-term economic partnership between the U.S. and Ukraine and would help “Ukraine’s economy grow as this brutal and savage war comes to an end.”
Trump’s comments came on the third anniversary of the start of the war.
FDA moves to rehire medical device staffers fired only days earlier
Barely a week after mass firings at the Food and Drug Administration, some probationary staffers received unexpected news over the weekend: The government wants them back.
Beginning Friday night, FDA employees overseeing medical devices and other key areas received calls and emails notifying them that their recent terminations had been “rescinded effective immediately,” according to messages viewed by The Associated Press.
Three FDA staffers affected by the decisions spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity because they planned to continue working for the agency and weren’t authorized to discuss its internal procedures.
The reversal is the latest example of President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's chaotic approach to cost-cutting, which has resulted in several agencies firing, and then scrambling to rehire, employees responsible for nuclear weapons, national parks and other government services.
▶ Read more about the FDA workers
— Matthew Perrone
Massachusetts cities sue over Trump threats to cut funds if they don’t cooperate on immigration
The two cities, Chelsea and Somerville, are Boston suburbs that have so-called sanctuary policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. They argue the administration’s tactics violate the cities’ constitutional rights.
“The President cannot use federal funding as a weapon to force local governments to undermine public safety and their values and participate in his mass deportation efforts,” said Oren Sellstrom, one of the cities’ attorneys. “Today’s lawsuit seeks to protect sanctuary and welcoming cities, so they can continue to make public safety decisions that are in the best interests of their residents.”
The Trump administration has sued Chicago over its sanctuary policies and lawmakers in at least 20 states have introduced bills targeting sanctuary cities.
The lawsuit comes as White House border czar Tom Homan recently called out Boston, which also has a sanctuary policy, for not helping federal officials with deportations.
Federal employees who have been working from home are returning to offices this week
That's in accordance with President Trump's return-to-office mandate.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who's leading Trump's Department of Government Efficiency scouring government agencies for suspected waste, said on his platform X on Monday: "Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave."
Lee Zeldin, Trump’s new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said Monday on X, formerly Twitter, “Full time, COVID-era remote work is DONE under @POTUS leadership.”
Judge blocks two agencies from disclosing personal records to Musk’s DOGE
The judge ruled Monday that the Department of Education and the Office of Personnel Management likely violated the Privacy Act by disclosing people's personal information to Trump adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency without their consent.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Greenbelt, Maryland, said her decision to issue a temporary restraining order against the agencies doesn’t prevent Trump from “effectuating the administration’s policies.”
“It prevents the disclosure of the plaintiffs’ sensitive personal information to DOGE affiliates who, on the current record, do not have a need to know the information to perform their duties,” she wrote.
▶ Read more about the judge's decision
Trump administration cancels reading and math tests of 17-year-olds meant to study long-term trends
The Long-Term Trend Assessment is administered every four years for students who are ages 9, 13, and 17.
The test for 17-year-olds hasn’t been done since 2012 because of budget constraints. Its elimination will affect the collection of long-term data on how older students are progressing.
The tests are part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The Education Department said the cuts don’t affect the main NAEP assessments of fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders, which are given every two years and are known as “the nation’s report card.”
A department spokesperson did not provide a reason for the cuts.
French President Emmanuel Macron has left the White House after meeting with Tump
Trump, a Republican, hosted Macron on Monday, the three-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Trump is set to hold a meeting Thursday with another key European leader, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries tells caucus members to join him on Capitol steps on Tuesday
He says the purpose of the event is to help Democrats give their perspective on the House Republican budget plan, which is expected to come up for a vote this week.
Jeffries says the plan would provide $4.5 trillion in tax breaks, explode the debt and end “Medicaid as we know it.” And he’s asking members for “maximum attendance” this week.
“We must be at full strength to enhance our opportunity to stop the GOP Tax Scam in its tracks,” Jeffries said in a letter to colleagues.
Republicans are trying to push through a plan that would give them the opportunity later this year to extend tax cuts enacted in 2017. They’re also aiming for $2 trillion in spending cuts over the course of a decade to help offset the impact on the national debt.
Trump’s Justice Department enforcer has been a frequent target of complaints about his conduct
Emil Bove is President Trump’s chief enforcer at the Justice Department.
In just a month as the department's acting No. 2 official, the little-known Bove has plowed through norms and niceties, whether scolding FBI leadership for "insubordination" in refusing his request to hand over the names of agents who investigated the January 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol or forcing out attorneys who worked those cases.
Earlier this month, he pressured former colleagues to drop charges against New York City's mayor for reasons unrelated to the strength of the case, upending decades of Justice Department norms.
The moves have spurred intense criticism from legal scholars and former prosecutors.
But Bove has brushed aside such concerns in a way that’s not at all surprising to many who knew him when he was litigating drug and terrorism cases as a federal prosecutor in New York City.
▶ Read more about Bove's past conduct
Federal workers sue over Musk’s threat to fire them if they don’t explain their accomplishments
Attorneys for the federal workers said Monday in the lawsuit that billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk violated the law with his weekend demand that employees explain their accomplishments or risk being fired.
The updated lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in California and was provided to The Associated Press, is trying to block mass layoffs pursued by Musk and President Trump, including any connected to the email distributed by the Office of Personnel Management on Saturday. The office, which functions as a human resources agency for the federal government, said employees needed to detail five things that they did last week by end of day Monday.
“No OPM rule, regulation, policy, or program has ever, in United States history, purported to require all federal workers to submit reports to OPM,” said the amended complaint, which was filed on behalf of unions, businesses veterans, and conservation groups. It called the threat of mass firings “one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”
▶ Read more about the lawsuit over DOGE